Tag to What's Up, Tiger Mommy?
by LetItRain25
Summary: Picks up right after What's Up, Tiger Mommy and ends right before Heartache. Spoilers for season 8 so click for more info, but just a transition story between the two episodes.


Ok, so this is really pointless but I was watching season 8 again and wanted something between eps 2 and 3 from the season and this is what I got. Spoilers through the beginning of season 8. Really, I'm just waiting on the air conditioning guy to show up so I'm stuck in my house and this is what happens :)

This story is completely un-beta'd so any mistakes are my own. Also, obviously I don't own anything because if I did my air conditioning would be fixed and I'd be causing trouble on the set :) Anyway, hope you enjoy! Please feel free to comment. Since this is only my second fic I'd love to hear what you think!

Warning: Some language, and obviously spoilers for season 8

What's Up Tiger Mommy

The ride was quiet. Dean had pretty much shut down after leaving the auction. Sam had tried saying,

"Dean that's not true, you know that."

Dean had just given a quick nod before turning and walking out the door, a mumbled "Let's go" his only reply.

"Where are we going?" Sam asked, hurrying to catch up to his brother.

"Well, we go back to Kevin's hideout, try to figure out where that crazy family went."

Sam smiled to himself earning himself a grumpy, "What?" from Dean.

"Nothin' man, it's just…..Do we really have any right to call another family crazy?"

Dean offers a ghost of a smile "Good point."

With that Dean climbed in the car and here they are. Well, an hour later here they are. Dean has that distant look which Sam had realized meant he was probably thinking about purgatory again. Usually Sam would try to say something, pull his brother out of it or something, but, well, he didn't know where that line was anymore. Sam had taken a year off and Dean hadn't. Of course Dean was thinking about it. Sam knew from previous experience that trying to distract Dean would only earn him a snide remark and an even grumpier Dean. Sam saw an exit and decided to stick with the tried-and-true methods instead.

"You hungry? There's a diner up here and their sign says they have pie." Sam tried to say it nonchalantly, but was really staring at Dean's reflection through his window, trying to gauge his brother's response.

In reality Dean wasn't hungry. Don't get me wrong-he missed food, and pie, and burgers and all that, but he just couldn't get as into it anymore. He kept trying, sticking with Frank's mantra of smile through the pain but in reality "Nope" was pretty much the first response that popped into his brain at the mention of food. Instead of saying something that would lead to more trouble than it was worth he stuck with the tried-and-true response instead.

"Yeah sure." With that he took the exit, pulling into the large diner that was located right up against the highway.

Sam hated these places. They all claimed to have "the best" something. "The best burger this side of the Mississippi" or "The South's best BBQ" or "Best Pie in the country." Ninety percent of the time though, they were just ok. He supposes that would be less appealing on a sign than "best," though.

"Hey grab the laptop will ya?"

Sam looks up at Dean's question, taking a moment to process before reaching for the computer.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"There's wi-fi," Dean says, indicating the little sticker on the door indicating free wifi. "Figured we could at least hack the kid's email or something."

"Sounds good."

They walk into the diner, Dean immediately taking the booth in the back corner, back against the wall leaving him a full view of the diner. Sam and Dean had been trained on tactical awareness, but Dean had been doing an above-and-beyond job of using it since he got back. If they were in a room he would move to keep everyone within his field of vision, and if he couldn't he'd start to get antsy. Sleeping on the floor, over-responding to normal city noises, and a kill first and ask questions later attitude that was worse than when their dad died all suggested to Sam that his big brother was having trouble re-acclimating. Of course, every time Sam tried to do anything about it Dean would either shut down, or just leave the room. Not helpful.

Cas. Dean was thinking about Cas. Again. For the millionth time since leaving the auction. He was actually pretty sure he'd never actually stopped thinking about Cas, so maybe it was just one really long time. Sure, Dean was going to kill Tiger Mom, but she was Crowley and sometimes there are casualties in a war. Plus, she attacked him first. Of course, none of that changed the fact that Cas wasn't here. That was his fault. He'd been trying, and he hadn't been strong enough and now Cas was stuck in friggin' Purgatory because Dean couldn't hold onto him. Thus, Dean was back to Kevin and his friggin' note. Damnit.

Dean sighed, internally telling himself to get his shit together. Sam was already worried and this was certainly not helping his case.

A waitress sauntered up to the table to take their order. Dean decided that the best way to prove he was back was to offer his trademarked charming yet devilish grin and appreciate the long legs the waitress was currently using to strut away from the table after taking their order.

Dean had ordered a burger, fries, and a coke while Sam had gotten a grilled chicken salad and coffee.

"So, you find anything yet?" Sam had been tapping away on the laptop, only pausing to attempt to surreptitiously glance at his brother. Of course, Sam was a little slow on the sneaky nowadays, while Dean was even more aware of it than usual, so perhaps surreptitiously may have been over-stating it.

"I just got into his email-apparently he'd changed his password. Huh. This is weird."

"What?"

"There's one email to himself in his inbox."

"What's it say?"

"Dear Sam, and Dean." Sam pauses to share a look with Dean.

"I'm assuming you will get this eventually. Please stop looking for me. I was doing fine on my own until you guys showed up. Thank you for helping me find my mom," Sam pauses as the waitress arrives with their food. Dean is offering his charming yet devilish smile and the waitress is blushing, obviously appreciating the attention.

"Can I get you boys anything else?"

"We're fine" Sam jumps in before Dean gets the chance to say anything to the waitress, earning him an angry glare from Dean.

The waitress says ok but makes sure she saunters at just the right pace for Dean to appreciate her mile-long legs. Dean is leaning out of the booth slightly to appreciate the view, coming back to Sam as she round the corner to go behind the counter.

"You were saying?" Sam rolls his eyes as Dean smiles, taking a bite of his burger.

Uh….Thank you for helping me find my mom and all but you did try to kill her, so let's say we're not even there just yet. Sorry for bailing on you, but I'm sure you'll be fine. Good luck. Oh, and really, stop looking. –Kevin."

"Huh." Dean says, taking a bit of his burger and a loud swallow of diet coke.

"Yeah. There's not much else in here. Just random junk mail."

"Traffic cams?"

"There were no working ones by the auction, and I've been checking around his hideout, his mom's house, his school, his girlfriend's school….Nothing."

"Great." Dean puts down his half-eaten burger, just observing the patrons at the diner while Sam finishes his food.

The waitress comes back while Sam takes his last bite,

"How was everything boys?"

"Excellent, thank you Mandy," Dean says, reading her nametag.

"I'm glad you liked it-can I get you anything else?" She asks, leaning over to re-fill Dean's water, giving him a nice view of her cleavage.

"Oh I'm sure we can think of something" Dean mumbles, as the waitress smiles at him.

"Do you have any pie?" Sam asks, bringing the conversation back on track.

"Yes, we have cherry, chocolate, apple, and pecan."

"Which is your favorite?" Dean asks.

"Well, most people like the traditional cherry or apple, but I'm a huge fan of the chocolate."

"Chocolate it is then."

She nods, and again, walks away with Dean following her every move. Dean's appreciation is cut short, though, when one of the other waiters drops a stack of plates, causing Dean to jump about a mile-and-a-half out of his seat, simultaneously reaching one hand for his gun and the other for his knife.

Looking around, Dean sees the waiter and glances back to the table, trying to calm himself down.

"Uh, Mandy, could we actually get that pie to go?"

"Sure honey" is her response as she slips the pie into a to-go container. Dean already has his money out of his wallet and is standing to leave by the time she walks over to the table. Taking the hint, Sam is gathering the laptop together.

Walking out of the diner Sam offers a "Everything ok?"

The typical "I'm fine, Sam" his response.

By the end of the week they've checked out anywhere Kevin would've gone. Well, anywhere the old Kevin would've gone. New Kevin is a little more rogue, but Dean figures that's out of necessity. Kevin didn't have anyone to watch his back so he had to get more creative. Something Dean can certainly relate to. Of course, the difference was that now Kevin had his mom and Dean had a brother who had a crush. Awesome.

Dean had done his best to not call out Sam every chance he got. He really had. Unfortunately, that didn't keep Dean from thinking about it every time Sam talked about the last year, or took them to a farmer's market, or talked about a movie he'd seen, or yada yada yada. Really, what it boiled down to was Sam had a life, and Dean was ruining it. Again. At least that's what Dean was getting from all of this. It was like Jess all over again. For Sam that meant he was happy, but for Dean that meant being abandoned. Dean just kept finding himself thinking about how much this sucks.

Sam, for his part, had tried not to talk about the year Dean was gone. Occasionally he would mention things on accident before he could stop himself, but he really did try. He was happy to have Dean back. He was happy to be with his brother again, and he was sorry as hell for what happened, but he was trying to fix it now. It just seemed like that wasn't enough for Dean. Which sucked for Sam because it's not like he had any other options.

On the plus side, Sam noticed that Dean was improving. Dean occasionally slept in a bed, wasn't as jumpy, and could now at least focus even if they were in a crowded spot. That was partially why Sam took him to a farmer's market. Get Dean used to crowded places again. The good news was that Dean didn't even notice they were in the farmer's market, which was progress in a way. The bad news was that Dean found a hunt….


End file.
